Toaster

For the past week or two, I have been eating sandwiches.

Toasted sandwiches!

For some reason I have been really craving for sandwiches, so 2 weeks ago I went to Target and got myself a toaster, kinda cool I think, took a pic and show you all:

Looks good uh?

My attitude toward new tech products

Once in a while, one of my friends would ask me about new tech products, laptops, mp3 players, cell phones, PDAs and etc. While I am no expert on reviewing those products, my general attitude towards first generation products is NOT to buy them. Reasons for that are simple, no need for me to explain, when a product just got released, the general users are basically being treated as their testing labs. Of course the vendors will try their best to test all they can in their own labs, but they always miss some things, as we all do on things in life. So I guess if you really want something bad, wait till the second generation products get released. While they might still have problems, at least tens of thousands of people have already been the guinea pigs for you to test the things you wanna buy. Also by then you will be able to find more reviews and user feedbacks on the product you are interested. Don’t even mention the price will get cheaper too!

Well, Fei was asking me about the Macbook Pro, it’s a really sweet laptop, and I like it a lot, but there are several things that I would consider before I make my decision to buy it.

1. Even though Macbook Pro is already Intel based and now can dual book Mac OS and Windows, a lot of applications under Mac OS haven’t been fully converted to the Universal Binaries code yet. What that means is that a lot of applications still cannot run natively under the Mac OS, instead, they are running on what is call Rosetta, a software that talks to the hardware. Even though apple claims that it works like a charm, but software running on software then running on the OS is one more layer than software directly running on the OS. So I think it’s gonna be slower. And when all the applications got converted to the Universal Binaries, they will be directly running on the OS, and that is better. Well, you might think, I can just get the computer now and then wait till they convert all the applications. In the mean time, I am fine being slow. Even though all the software companies are working their butt off to convert their applications, but the catch is, by the time all the apps got converted, apple might have already released the 2nd generation Macbook Pro, maybe even for a lower price. What are you gonna do then? So I would suggest at least wait till most of the apps got converted.
2. Money money money. Did you see how expensive the current Macbook Pro is? Yeah it’s cool and all, but does it really worth $2000? I personally don’t think so, and I’ll bet you when there are more core duo laptops enter the market to heat up the competition, the price is gonna drop.
3. As I mentioned above, first generation products usually have many defects, so far I’ve heard there are overheating, noise, screen and touchpad problems. I don’t know whether those accuses are true or not, but I definitely don’t wanna find out myself. So wait.

Some of you may say now, well, if it has so many problems, why is it Mac better than PC? You know too bad I can’t explain this to you, I guess I am not good at explain my feelings, it’s just a superb computing experience, you’ll have to find out yourself, and my last Powerbook G4 was second generation, and I still had to have the screen replaced two months after I got it. But it was all worth it. Too bad I sold it to pay my tuition, that’s also why whenever U of A sent me letter asking for donation, I would tear it up immediately.
For your reference, here are some reviews I found quite helpful, hope it will help you too.

Apple’s MacBook Pro: Using it as a Mac and a PC

How to cool down your MacBook Pro: Before and After [w/pics & temps]

MacBook Pro noises, LCD, touchpad, other problems

Analysis: Just how different are Intel-Macs from Intel PCs?

The End.

1st blog using cellphone

This is pretty cool.

I am writing this blog on my cellphone through gmail. Wordpress (my blog software) has this feature of letting you post an entry via email. It really comes handy at times. I guess that’s one thing you cannot do with MSN Spaces.

Today is actually a very nice day, but tomorrow’s gonna get back to the normal, raining.

Oh well, at least I can go biking after work.

The end.

Trek 8500

Yesterday afternoon suddenly got an email from James saying that Caleb is selling his bike for $300. I just couldn’t believe it at first, I mean, the top of the line Trek hardtail, the new model would cost around $2,310, how could he just wanna sell it for $300. It’s a 2001 model, has some scratches and dings on its body, but mechanically it works great. I have ridden it two or three times, the bike is extremely light, handles very well, and it looks really cool too.

In the beginning I was hesitating because the deal just seems too good to be true, I was asking around and see of the bike has any potential problems and so on. Then I thought it’s Caleb I am dealing with, he’s not a guy that would cheat me or anything. So I decided to get it, and now I officially have a bike, and a nice one too!

Just in case you are interested, here are the specs of my bike:

Frameset
SIZES: 19.5″
FRAME: ZR 9000
FRONT SUSPENSION: RockShox Reba Team w/Pop Loc, 80mm
Wheels
WHEELS: Bontrager Race Lite Disc tubeless
TIRES: Bontrager Super X, tubeless ready
Drivetrain
SHIFTERS: Shimano Deore XT
FRONT DERAILLEUR: Shimano Deore XT
REAR DERAILLEUR: Shimano Deore XT
CRANKSET: Shimano XT 44/32/22
CASSETTE: Shimano Deore XT 11-34, 9 speed
PEDALS: Shimano 520
Components
SADDLE: Bontrager Race Lite
SEATPOST: Bontrager Race Lite
HANDLEBARS: Bontrager Race Lite, 31.8, 630×25
STEM: Bontrager Race Lite, 31.8
HEADSET: Alloy aheadset, semi-cartridge, sealed
BRAKESET: Avid SD 5 w/Shimano STI levers